Sigmund Freud once asked “What does a woman want?” The answer, of course, depends on the woman and her own particular needs. Nancy La Vigne, director of the Justice Policy Center at the Urban Institute, and co-author of the report “Women on the Outside: Understanding the Experiences of Female Prisoners Returning to Houston, Texas,” discovered that what incarcerated mothers want is to be reunited with their children. Click here to go to website
In a new Urban Institute Metro Trends blog La Vigne writes of the strong maternal bond between mother and child that even prison walls can’t destroy. La Vigne reveals the difficulties reentrant mothers face, and how having children can actually strengthen a woman’s resolve to keep from going back to prison. She calls for correctional policies that help keep families intact, and for reentry programs that help returning mothers with employment opportunities and safe and affordable housing.
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